Disposable spacer

ABSTRACT

A disposable spacer for use in a semiconductor device fabrication process is formed of a germanium-silicon alloy. The germanium-silicon alloy may include a first portion (x) of germanium and a second portion ( 1 -x) of silicon, wherein x is greater than about 0.2. A method of forming the disposal spacer includes providing a device structure and forming a layer of germanium-silicon alloy on the device structure. The layer is then etched to form the disposable spacer. The device structure may include a substrate and a gate structure with the disposable spacers formed at sidewalls thereof. Further, the device structure may include a substrate having an oxidation mask formed thereon with the disposable spacers formed relative to sidewalls of the oxidation mask. In addition, the method includes removing the disposable spacer by oxidizing the spacer to form volatile Ge x Si y O. Any unvolatilized Ge x Si y O may be removed using water. Further, the removal step may be performed using a cleaning solution including ammonium hydroxide.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the fabrication of semiconductordevices. More particularly, the present invention relates to disposablespacers, methods of forming such disposable spacers, and methods ofusing such disposable spacers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the size of semiconductor devices decreases, various problems arise.Particularly, the control of device characteristics, such astransistors, becomes more difficult as the feature size of devices goesbelow one micron. In order to control device characteristics, it isimportant to control processes such as ion implantation and etchingduring the fabrication of these devices. One technique for controllingsuch processes involves the use of permanent spacers and disposablespacers. For example, spacers may be utilized to offset the implantationof ions relative to another structural feature of the device or offsetan etch of a material relative to a different region of the device beingfabricated.

For illustration, in submicron CMOS technologies, PMOS devices typicallyshow a short channel behavior, which is partly caused by lateraldiffusion of a dopant, such as boron, into the gate channel of the PMOSdevice after implant of active areas of the PMOS device. Although,typically, a permanent spacer is utilized for offset of the ion implantfrom the gate edge in order to widen the gate channel, the spacer widthfor the PMOS device is usually determined based on the spacer widthnecessary to create an adequately sized gate channel for NMOS devicesfabricated at the same time. Such a spacer width is typically too smallto account for the larger diffusion of, for example, boron, into thegate channel of the PMOS device, as opposed to the diffusion of arsenicinto the gate channel of an NMOS device. As such, the gate channel isusually shorter than desired for the PMOS device.

Typically, the gate has a large stack height that permits the formationof an additional spacer for PMOS devices to offset the ion implant(i.e., boron) further from the gate so as to allow for greater lateraldiffusion in the underlying substrate. Various spacer materials areavailable; however, use of such spacers creates other problems. Forexample, a polysilicon spacer could be utilized to offset the implant.However, the removal of the polysilicon spacer after the implant isperformed, is difficult to achieve without leaving stringers or overetching into the poly gate or substrate. Further, for example, a siliconnitride spacer if used creates too small of a permanent gap betweennarrowly spaced gates (i.e., wordlines) for the formation of a bit linecontact there between. Further, for example, an oxide spacer could alsobe utilized. However, the removal of the oxide spacer would lead to aloss of field oxide.

An additional illustration of controlling semiconductor devicecharacteristics through the use of fabrication techniques includes theuse of an ion implantation in a local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS)process to optimize isolation between the active areas of the devicesfabricated. Such a field implant during the LOCOS process is commonlyreferred to as a channel stop implant. However, the channel stop implantintroduces a dopant diffusion encroachment problem wherein the dopantlaterally diffuses into active area/channel regions formed by the LOCOSprocess. The overall effect is that the width of the channel/electricalactive area being formed by the LOCOS process is undesirably reduced.

More particularly, a silicon nitride mask is typically utilized as theoxidation mask for the LOCOS process. Although spacers have been formedrelative to the silicon nitride mask for offsetting the channel stopimplant, such spacers also cause problems as in the case of polysilicon,silicon nitride, or oxide spacers. Such problems include changing theshape of the field oxide grown, removal of portions of the field oxideduring etching of the spacer such as with use of an oxide spacer, or,for example, some of the materials may not be selectively etchablerelative to the oxidation mask. For example, if a silicon nitride spaceris utilized with a silicon nitride oxidation mask, selective removalwould not be possible.

For the above reasons, there is a need in the art for new disposablespacers, in addition to methods of forming and using such spacers toprovide desirable semiconductor device characteristics. The presentinvention, as described below, overcomes the problems described aboveand other problems which will become apparent to one skilled in the artfrom the description below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a disposable spacer for use in asemiconductor device fabrication process. The disposable spacer isformed of a germanium-silicon alloy.

In one embodiment of the invention, the germanium-silicon alloy includesa first portion (x) of germanium and a second portion (1-x) of silicon,wherein x is greater than about 0.2. In another embodiment of theinvention, the germanium-silicon alloy includes a first portion (x) ofgermanium and a second portion (1-x) of silicon, wherein x is greaterthan about 0.7.

A method of forming a disposal spacer in accordance with the presentinvention is also described. The method includes providing a devicestructure and depositing a layer of germanium-silicon alloy on thedevice structure. The layer is then etched to form the disposablespacer.

In one embodiment of the forming method, the layer is dry etched to formthe disposable spacer. In additional embodiments of the forming method,the device structure includes a substrate and a gate structure with thedisposable spacers formed at sidewalls thereof. Further, the gatestructure may have permanent spacers formed at sidewalls thereof. Thedisposable spacers are then formed upon the permanent spacers. Further,the device structure may include a substrate having an oxidation maskformed thereon with the disposable spacers formed relative to sidewallsof the oxidation mask.

In another method in accordance with the present invention for use infabricating semiconductor devices, the method includes providing a firstregion of material and a second region of material positioned relativeto the first region of material. A disposable spacer is formed using agermanium-silicon alloy adjacent a portion of both the first region ofmaterial and second region of material.

In one embodiment of the method, a portion of the first material offsetrelative to the second region of material by the disposable spacer ismaterially altered. Further, the material alteration may includeimplanting the portion of the first region of material offset relativeto the second region of material by the disposable spacer. Further, thematerial alteration may include etching the portion of the first regionof material offset relative to the second region of material by thedisposable spacer.

In another embodiment of the method, the method includes removing thedisposable spacer. Further, the removing of the disposable spacer may beperformed by oxidizing the spacer to form volatile Ge_(x)Si_(y)O. Anyunvolatilized Ge_(x)Si_(y)O may be removed using water. Further, theremoval step may include removing the spacer with a cleaning solutionincluding ammonium hydroxide.

In another method in accordance with the present invention for use infabricating semiconductor devices, the method includes providing a firstregion of material and forming a second region of material at a positionrelative to the first region of material. The second region of materialhas a surface in contact with and extending from the first region ofmaterial. A disposable spacer is formed from a germanium-silicon alloyon a portion of the surface of the second region of material. Thedisposable spacer extends over a first portion of the first region ofmaterial. A second portion of the first region of material offsetrelative to the second region of material by the disposable spacer isthen implanted.

In yet another method in accordance with the present invention for usein fabricating semiconductor devices, the method includes providing afirst region of material and forming a second region of material at aposition relative to the first region of material. A disposable spaceris then formed of germanium-silicon alloy in contact with a portion ofthe second region of material. A portion of the first region of materialoffset from the second region of material by the disposable spacer isthen etched.

Another method for use in fabrication of semiconductor devices is alsodescribed. The method includes providing a device structure and forminga germanium-silicon layer on the device structure. A disposable spaceraligned to a first portion of the device structure is formed from thegermanium-silicon layer to allow for materially altering a secondportion of the device structure. The second portion of the devicestructure is offset relative to the first portion of a device structureby the disposable spacer.

A method for use in fabrication of MOS devices is also provided. Themethod includes providing a substrate and having a gate structure formedthereon. The gate structure includes at least one sidewall. Agermanium-silicon layer is formed over the gate structure and substrate.A disposable spacer is formed from the germanium-silicon layer on the atleast one sidewall and a portion of substrate offset from the gatestructure by the disposable spacer is implanted.

In one embodiment of this method, the substrate includes both PMOS andNMOS devices fabricated thereon. The disposable spacer is used to offsetimplant of the substrate relative to the gate structure of a PMOSdevice.

In another method for use in fabrication of semiconductor devices, themethod includes providing a substrate having an oxidation mask thereon.The oxidation mask includes at least one sidewall. Oxide is formed onthe substrate. A germanium-silicon layer is formed over the oxidationmask and substrate, and a disposable spacer is formed from thegermanium-silicon layer on the at least one sidewall. The substrateoffset from the oxidation mask by the disposable spacer is implanted.

In various embodiments of the method, the oxidation mask is a siliconnitride mask. Further, the germanium-silicon layer is formed, thedisposal spacer is formed, and the substrate implanted before or afterthe oxide formation. And yet further, the substrate may be implanted ata point during oxide formation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1D generally shows the steps of formation and use of thedisposal spacer in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 2A-2F are illustrations showing conventional processing steps fora CMOS device structure including NMOS and PMOS devices.

FIGS. 3A-3E are illustrations of processing steps in accordance with thepresent invention to form and utilize the germanium-silicon alloydisposable spacer in the fabrication of CMOS devices.

FIGS. 4A-4E are illustrations of conventional LOCOS processing steps.

FIGS. 5A-5D are illustrations of LOCOS processing utilizing thegermanium-silicon alloy disposable spacers in accordance with thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The formation and utilization of germanium-silicon disposable spacers inaccordance with the present invention shall be generally described withreference to FIGS. 1A-1D. As shown in FIG. 1A, a device structure 10 mayinclude various regions of material. Device structure 10 includes firstregion of material 12 and second region of material 14. For example, andas will be described in further detail below, the first region ofmaterial 12 may be a silicon substrate, portions of which are to bedoped, and second region of material 14 may be, for example, anoxidation mask or any other device structure typically used infabrication processes. Further, the regions of material may have varioussurfaces, such as, for example, sidewalls 15 of the second region ofmaterial 14.

During the fabrication of various semiconductor devices, spacers areutilized to offset implants and/or etches for various device structures.The present invention contemplates the use of alloy (Ge_((x))Si_((1-x)))disposable spacers for use in performing various fabrication processes,such as, for example, offset implants or etches. The device structureswith which the germanium-silicon disposable spacers are utilized mayinclude any and al materials typically utilized in a fabrication processas are known to those skilled in the art.

To form the germanium-silicon disposable spacers, a germanium-siliconalloy layer 16 is formed conformally over the device structure 10,including the first and second regions of material 12 and 14 as shown inFIG. 1B. The germanium-silicon alloy layer 16 (Ge_((x))Si_((1-x))) ismade of a first portion of germanium (x) and a second portion of silicon(1-x) in the alloy structure. Various percentages of germanium andsilicon, such as wherein x is greater than about 0.2 provide benefits inaccordance with the present invention. Preferably, x is greater thanabout 0.7 and even greater 0.9. As used herein, Ge_((x))Si_((1-x)) andthe alloy description including a first portion of germanium (x) and asecond portion of silicon (1-x), are equivalents.

The germanium-silicon alloy layer 16 may be formed by any known method.For example, the germanium-silicon alloy may be deposited byconventional sputtering or chemical vapor deposition techniques, orgrown by gas source silicon molecular beam epitaxy as noted in thearticle by Koyama et. al., entitled “Etching characteristics ofSi_(1-x)Ge_(x) alloy in ammoniac wet cleaning,” Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol.57, No. 21, 19 Nov. 1990, pages 2202-04, herein entirely incorporated byreference. As chemical vapor deposition generally provides better stepcoverage it is preferably utilized. Such chemical vapor deposition (CVD)of the germanium-silicon layer may be performed, for example, at atemperature in the range of about 400° C. to about 600° C., preferablyabout 400° C. to about 500° C. The layer formed may be of a thickness ofabout 200 Å to about 1000 Å.

The germanium-silicon layer 16 is then etched to form disposable spacers18, as shown in FIG. 1C, which are aligned to existing structures suchas the second region of material 14. The spacers 18 are in contact witha portion of the first region of material 12 at the base 19 of thespacers 18. To form the disposable spacers 18, the germanium-siliconlayer 16 is preferably dry etched utilizing a plasma, including afluorine and/or chlorine containing gas, in much the same manner aspolysilicon is dry etched. For example, such plasma may be a CF₄, a Cl₂an NF₃, or any other fluorine and/or chlorine containing gas.

Although various examples are given for forming the germanium-siliconalloy layer 16 and also for etching the layer 16, it should be readilyapparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention is notlimited to such illustrative examples. Such processes of formation andetching may be performed by any method suitable for forming and etchinga germanium-silicon alloy layer and the present invention is limitedonly as described in the accompanying claims. For example, sputteringmay be performed in various manners, CVD may be performed in variousmanners and at various parameters (i.e. low pressure CVD, plasmaenhanced CVD, etc.), and etching may include any anisotropic etch usingvarious solutions or plasmas.

After the spacers 18 have been formed, at least one portion of the firstregion of material 12 is materially altered. Such alteration may occuras a result of an etchant or as a result of ion implantation. Suchetchant or ion implantation is represented generally by the arrows 20.

As shown in FIG. 1D, the material alteration of the portions of thefirst region of material 12 result in materially altered regions 22. Forexample, if an ion implantation 20 is performed, regions 22 would be ionimplanted regions offset relative to the second region of material 14,or if an etching step was performed, then the dashed lines 22 representregions of the first region of material 12 offset a distance relative tothe second region of material 14 that would be removed by means of theetchant. It should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art thatboth an etch and an implant or any other process may be carried outusing the same spacer or carried out using different disposable spacersat different processing points of the device being fabricated.

After the offset implant or etch of the portions of the first region ofmaterial 12 relative to the second region of material 14, the disposablespacers 18 are removed. The germanium-silicon alloy disposable spacers18 are easily removed with good selectivity to other materials typicallyutilized in semiconductor fabrication processes such as, for example,silicon nitride and oxides. The method of removing the germanium-siliconalloy disposable spacers 18 varies depending upon the content of thedisposable spacers 18. If the germanium content is high relative to thesilicon content, i.e., greater than about 20% germanium, then thegermanium-silicon spacer is preferably removed by oxidation andvolatilization of the disposable spacers 18 followed by a water rinse.In removing the germanium-silicon disposable spacers 18 by oxidation,the device structure 10, including the spacers 18, are oxidized at atemperature less than about 750° C. In this range, germanium willoxidize and Ge_(x)Si_(y)O will be formed. The Ge_(x)Si_(y)O gas is thenremoved. Any unvolatilized Ge_(x)Si_(y)O remaining is water soluble andis removed with a deionized water rinse.

In another process of removing the disposable spacers 18, such as whenthe silicon content is towards the 80% range, an ammonium hydroxide wetclean is utilized, such as an RCA clean as described in the Koyama etal. reference listed above. The removal will, of course, depend upon thecontent of the alloy and amount of material to be removed.

The germanium-silicon alloy disposable spacers 18 are stable towithstand ion implantation. Further, the germanium-silicon spacers 18have good selectivity to various other materials used in semiconductorfabrication processes, such as oxides, nitrides, or polysilicon to allowfor easy removal.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, a disposable spacermade of germanium-silicon alloy is utilized during the fabricationprocess to allow for offset of implants and/or etches, or any otherprocess that may benefit from use of such a disposable spacer. Further,the germanium-silicon disposable spacers are easily removed with goodselectivity to various other materials in the semiconductor fabricationprocesses, and therefore, the spacers use does not interfere with suchexisting processes. The germanium-silicon disposable spacers are easilyintegrated into well established process flows, such as those describedin the illustrations below. The illustrations given below describe twoprocess flows which benefit from the use of the germanium-silicondisposable spacer formed in accordance with the present invention.However, there are various other offset implant and offset etchingprocesses which may benefit from the use of a germanium-silicondisposable spacer and the present invention as described herein is notlimited to only those process flows illustrated but only as described inthe accompanying claims.

The first illustrative process flow utilizing the germanium-siliconalloy disposable spacers in accordance with the present invention shallbe described with reference to FIGS. 2A-2F, which illustratesconventional processing associated with ion implantation in thefabrication of CMOS devices, and with reference to FIGS. 3A-3E, whichillustrates ion implantation of CMOS devices utilizing disposablespacers in accordance with the present invention. In particular, theprocess described with reference to FIGS. 3A-3E provides for theoptimization of spacer width for PMOS devices resulting in lengthenedgate channels relative to the conventional processing techniquesdescribed with reference to FIGS. 2A-2F. Further, the offset implant isdescribed relative to the PMOS gate structure such that the narrowingdown of the gap between the gates being fabricated is prevented.

FIG. 2A shows an illustrative cross-section of a wafer after gate andpermanent spacer formation in a conventional CMOS process before thesource and drain for the PMOS and NMOS devices are implanted. As shownin FIG. 2A, the CMOS device structure 30, at this point in the process,includes N-well 34 and P-well 32. Field oxide regions 36, 38, and 40have also been formed. Further, NMOS gate 42 and PMOS gate 44 have beenformed in addition to stack 46. The NMOS gate 42 includes, for example,a polysilicon region 43 and a metal silicide region 45 (i.e. tungstensilicide), along with permanent spacers 48 and a nitride cap 49thereover. PMOS gate 44 includes similar regions including permanentspacers 52, and stack 46 also includes similar regions includingpermanent spacers 50.

After formation of the permanent spacers 48, 50, and 52, as shown inFIG. 2A, conventional photolithography utilizing photoresist 58 isperformed to implant n-type ions, such as, for example, arsenic, intoP-well 32, as generally represented by arrows 60. N-type active regions62 are formed therefore in P-well 32 on respective sides of NMOS gate42. The permanent spacers 48 provide for offset of the arsenic ionimplantation relative to the NMOS gate 42 to keep the channel width at adesired length while allowing for some diffusion of arsenic ions intothe gate channel.

After completion of the arsenic ion implantation, as shown in FIG. 2B,conventional photolithography utilizing photoresist 64 is then utilizedto implant p-type dopant ions into N-well 34 for formation of p-typeactive regions 68, as shown in FIG. 2C. For example, the ionimplantation may include the use of boron difluoride to implant boronions to create the p-type active regions 68 as generally shown by arrows66. The implantation of boron difluoride ions is offset from PMOS gate44 by permanent spacers 52 formed at the same time as permanent spacers48, and, therefore, of substantially the same width. After the borondifluoride ion implantation is performed, the photoresist 64 is removed,resulting in the device structure as shown in FIG. 2D.

The problem associated with such conventional processes as justdescribed is best shown and described with reference to FIGS. 2E and 2F,which are enlarged illustrations of the gate region of the NMOS deviceincluding gate 42 and respective n-type active areas 62 and of the gateregion of the PMOS device including gate 44 and respective p-type activeregions 68, respectively. FIG. 2E and FIG. 2F show the typically shortchannel behavior which is caused by lateral diffusion of p-type ions,such as boron, after the boron difluoride ion implantation. As thepermanent spacer width of both spacers 48 and spacers 52 for the offsetof implantation from the gate edge of both the NMOS and PMOS gates 42,44, is usually optimized for the NMOS devices, the permanent spacers 52for the PMOS gate 44 are too small to account for the larger diffusionof boron in the gate channel of the PMOS device. As shown in FIG. 2E,the gate channel width after implantation is shown by the distance 70.This channel width is adequate for NMOS device characteristics as thepermanent spacers 48 are of a width optimized to account for the lateraldiffusion of n-type dopant into the channel. Even after additionalheating steps, the channel distance 71 is adequate to provide thedesired NMOS characteristics. Again, this is because the permanentspacers 48 have a width optimized for providing for such a gate channeldistance.

However, the gate channel width 72 for the PMOS device, as shown in FIG.2F, becomes inadequate (i.e., channel distance 73) for PMOS circuitcharacteristics after heat treatments are performed with respect to thefabrication of the devices, for example, such as reflow heat treatments.Lateral diffusion of p-type dopants, such as, for example, boron intothe channel leaves a gate channel distance 73, that is undesirable.

With use of germanium-silicon alloy disposable spacers in accordancewith the present invention, the ion implant utilizing p-type dopants,such as, for example, boron, is offset giving more room for lateraldiffusion without causing short channel effects in the PMOS device.Further, a wet clean removal and/or removal of the disposable spacers byoxidation, as previously described, at a temperature below about 750° C.will not cause an enhanced lateral diffusion of the boron after implant.Yet further, such removal results in no field oxide loss, and with theremoval of the disposable spacers after they are used for the offsetimplant, gap distances between the gates remain unchanged.

The optimization of spacer width and resulting length in gate channelsof PMOS devices is described with reference to FIGS. 3A-3E. Afterimplantation of n-type dopant (such as arsenic) to form the activeregions 62 of the device structure 30 shown in FIG. 2B and removal ofphotoresist 58, the present invention includes depositing a layer ofgermanium-silicon alloy 80 over the CMOS device structure as shown inFIG. 3A. The germanium-silicon alloy layer 80 is conformally depositedon the device structure, including the surfaces of permanent spacers 48,50, and 52 in a manner previously described.

After deposition of the germanium-silicon alloy layer 80, the layer 80is dry etched to form germanium-silicon disposable spacers aligned tothe permanent spacers. Disposable spacers 82 are aligned to sidewalls ofpermanent spacers 48 of the NMOS gate 42, disposable spacers 84 arealigned with permanent spacers 50 of stack 46, and disposable spacers 86are aligned with sidewalls 88 of the permanent spacers 52 of PMOS gate44.

Photolithography techniques are then utilized to implant a p-typedopant, such as boron, as shown generally by arrows 92, to form p-typeregions 94 offset from gate 44 by the disposable spacers 86. Thephotoresist 90 is then removed after the ion implantation 92 iscompleted forming the p-type (i.e., boron) regions 94. The disposablespacers 82, 84, and 86 are then removed by oxidation or wet etching, aspreviously described.

FIGS. 3D and 3E show the resulting NMOS and PMOS gate regions,respectively, in an enlarged illustration. As shown in FIG. 3D, the gatechannel distance 70 for the NMOS device is left unchanged relative toconventional processing. However, with use of the germanium-siliconalloy disposable spacers 86 in accordance with the present invention,the channel distance 95 is increased and can be optimized by offsettingthe p-type dopant implant relative to the gate structure. After heattreatments, lateral diffusion of boron into the gate channel stillresults in a gate channel distance 96 that provides adequate PMOScharacteristics as the offset implant is optimized to allow for suchdiffusion.

Although the above illustration has been described with reference to theimplant of boron ions, utilizing boron difluoride, other ionimplantation processes, such as, for example, implanting arsenic,phosphorous, or any other ion implanted in fabrication processes canlikewise be offset from device structure as would be known and apparentto one skilled in the art. The present invention is not limited to theion implantation illustration above, but is only limited as described inthe accompanying claims.

A further illustration of the utilization of the disposable spacers inaccordance with the present invention shall be described with referenceto conventional LOCOS processing steps, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4E,and LOCOS processing in accordance with the present invention utilizinggermanium-silicon alloy disposable spacers, as illustrated in FIGS.5A-5D. The conventional LOCOS process, as shown in FIGS. 4A-4E, includesforming an oxidation mask (such as LOCOS stacks 112 114, and 116) onsilicon substrate 111. For example, the stacks 112, 114, and 116 mayinclude silicon nitride regions 113, 115, and 117, respectively, over anoxide pad, as shown by regions 118, 120, and 122, respectively. Theoxidation mask, as shown in FIG. 4A, allows for oxidation in regions124. Typically, a self-aligned field implant (i.e., channel stopimplant) is utilized for isolation of devices formed between the regions124. As shown in FIG. 4B, the field implant generally represented byarrows 125 may be performed before, during, or after the field oxidationformation of field oxide regions 126. The field implant creates channelstop regions 128. After the field oxide is grown and the channel stopregions 128 are formed, the final LOCOS profile before gate formation isshown in FIG. 4C, i.e., the oxidation mask is removed.

With respect to conventional processing, lateral diffusion of the ionsimplanted by the channel stop implant reduce the channel width betweenthe regions 124 and field oxide regions 126, as shown in FIGS. 4D and4E, respectively, particularly after heat treatment. FIG. 4D shows achannel width 131 after ion implantation prior to field oxide growth,and a channel width 132 after heat treatment, also prior to field oxidegrowth. FIG. 4E shows the lateral diffusion of the ion implantationafter field oxide has been grown. For example, prior to heat treatment,the channel width 134 decreases to a channel width 130 after heattreatment due to lateral diffusion. Such decreased channel widths areundesirable.

In accordance with the present invention, the LOCOS process utilizingthe germanium-silicon alloy disposable spacers provide a channel that isnot shortened due to lateral diffusion of a dopant material for thechannel stop implant. As shown in FIG. 5A, the silicon nitride oxidationmask or any other oxidation mask is formed on substrate 111.Germanium-silicon disposable spacers 142 are then formed in the samemanner as described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

The spacers may be formed for offset of the implant from the LOCOSstacks 112, 114, and 116 before the field oxide is grown. The disposablespacers 142 may also be formed and the implant performed after the fieldoxide regions 126 are grown, as shown in FIG. 5B. Likewise, the ionimplantation may be performed and the disposable spacers formed at anypoint in time during the growth of the field oxide. The requiredstopping power for the implant determines at which field oxide thicknessthe implant is to be done. At any time between, during, or after thefield oxidation, the disposable spacers 142 provide the offset requiredfor the channel stop implant.

The channel stop implant may be, for example, an implantation of boronor any other channel stop dopant as required for performing the desiredfunction. The channel stop implant is generally represented by arrows144. The channel stop implant creates channel stop regions 146 as shownin FIGS. 5A and 5B and also shown in the enlarged illustrations of FIGS.5C and 5D.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the channel distance 150 (after heat treatment) isoptimized for later device processing by offsetting the implant relativeto the oxidation mask using the disposable spacers 142 allowing for thelateral diffusion of ions into the channel region yet maintainingsuitable channel length. Further, as shown in FIG. 5D, when the spacerand the implant is performed after the field oxide has been grown, thechannel distance 152 is also optimized by offsetting the implantrelative to the oxidation mask a suitable distance to provide thedesired length of the channel formed.

As would be known to one skilled in the art, the germanium-silicondisposable spacer, such as that shown in FIG. 5A, may also be utilizedto offset the etch of a trench in the silicon substrate 111 as opposedto implanting ions offset from mask 112. Further, it is possible thatthe same disposable spacer may be utilized for etching the trench offsetfrom the oxidation mask in the LOCOS process, as well as for offsettingthe implant for creating the channel stop regions.

It is again noted that the illustrations described above are provided todescribe several semiconductor fabrication processes which utilize thedisposable spacer made of germanium-silicon alloy in order to offset animplantation or an etch from various device structures. The presentinvention contemplates the use of such germanium-silicon disposablespacers for many and various offset implants or etches during thefabrication of semiconductor devices or any other processes where such adisposable spacer may be beneficial.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to apreferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications of thepresent invention can be made within a contemplated scope of thefollowing claims as is readily known to one skilled in the art.

1-42. (canceled)
 43. A disposable spacer for use in a semiconductordevice fabrication process, the spacer comprising a germanium-siliconalloy, wherein the germanium-silicon alloy includes a first portion (x)of germanium and a second portion (1-x) of silicon, wherein x is greaterthan about 0.7.
 44. The spacer according to claim 43, wherein thedisposable spacer is formed upon sidewalls of a gate structure.
 45. Thespacer according to claim 43, wherein the disposable spacer is formedrelative to sidewalls of an oxidation mask.
 46. The spacer according toclaim 43, wherein x is greater than 0.9.
 47. A disposable spacer for usein a semiconductor device fabrication process, the spacer comprising agermanium-silicon alloy, wherein the germanium-silicon alloy includes afirst portion (x) of germanium and a second portion (1-x) of silicon,wherein x is greater than about 0.7, wherein permanent spacers areformed upon sidewalls of a gate structure, and further wherein thedisposable spacer is formed upon at least one of the permanent spacers.48. The spacer according to claim 47, wherein x is greater than 0.9. 49.A disposable spacer for use in a semiconductor device fabricationprocess, the spacer comprising a germanium-silicon alloy, wherein thegermanium-silicon alloy includes a first portion (x) of germanium and asecond portion (1-x) of silicon, wherein x is greater than about 0.7,and further wherein the disposable spacer is removable by oxidationfollowed by a water rinse.
 50. The spacer according to claim 49, whereinthe disposable spacer is formed upon sidewalls of a gate structure. 51.The spacer according to claim 49, wherein the disposable spacer isformed relative to sidewalls of a oxidation mask.
 52. The spaceraccording to claim 49, wherein x is greater than 0.9.